Effect of oral vaccination of cattle with lipid-formulated BCG on immune responses and protection against bovine tuberculosis

• Published in: Vaccine 2005-05, Vol.23 (27), p.3581-3589
• Main Authors: Buddle, Bryce M., Aldwell, Frank E., Skinner, Margot A., Lisle, Geoffrey W. de, Denis, Michel, Vordermeier, H. Martin, Hewinson, R. Glyn, Wedlock, D. Neil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic - administration & dosage; Administration, Oral; Animals; Antigens; Applied microbiology; Bacterial diseases; BCG Vaccine - administration & dosage; BCG Vaccine - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Bovine tuberculosis; Cattle; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human bacterial diseases; Infections; Infectious diseases; Lipids; Lipids - administration & dosage; Lipids - immunology; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Oral BCG vaccination; Proteins; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections; Tuberculosis, Bovine - immunology; Tuberculosis, Bovine - prevention & control; Vaccines; Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies (general aspects); Wildlife conservation
• ISSN: 0264-410X; 1873-2518
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2005.01.150

Cattle were given Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) in a lipid-based formulation via the oral route and tested for immune responses and protection against a challenge with virulent M. bovis. Calves were vaccinated by orally administering a pellet containing 10 8 colony forming units (CFU) of BCG, or 10 pellets containing a total of 10 9 CFU of BCG, whereas positive controls were injected subcutaneously with 10 6 CFU of BCG. All of the subcutaneously vaccinated calves produced positive responses in the caudal fold tuberculin skin test at 8 weeks after vaccination, whereas only 3/9 of the low dose and 6/10 of the high dose orally-vaccinated animals produced positive reactions. None of the animals produced positive reactions to the mycobacterial antigens, ESAT-6 and CFP10 in the interferon-γ (IFN-γ) test and only a total of four of the BCG-vaccinated animals produced positive responses in either the standard IFN-γ or comparative cervical skin test. Oral administration of 10 pellets of lipid-formulated BCG to cattle induced a significant level of protection against bovine tuberculosis compared to that observed in non-vaccinated animals and this level was similar to that seen in the BCG subcutaneously vaccinated animals. Oral vaccination of BCG in a lipid-formulation to calves was shown to induce some positive tuberculin skin test reactions, but could also induce protection against bovine tuberculosis.